link list

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

an inspiring story

yesterday i got to speak to a dear friend of mine from zambia and i was blown away by what he said to me, so much so that i have to share it with all of you. my friend nyambe is one of the most amazing people i have ever met. he is so humble and has such a kind, gentle spirit. he has the heart of a servant and looks for every opportunity to show people God's love. you can see it when you look at him and you feel it when you spend time with him.

when we spoke yesterday he told me that he had been thrown in jail for 4 days and just got out. i literally had only spoken to him a week before. it turns out he was trying to help a friend who was getting arrested for drug possession and the police didn't like his interference. he was totally innocent but he was arrested anyway and thrown into a holding cell at the police station. now, i have seen this holding cell and it's more like a closet. he told me he was in there with all kinds of other criminals and i felt so awful knowing that he had to experience that.

then to my surprise he told me how happy he was that it happened. he said, "susan it's ok. i shared the gospel for 4 days. i shared God's love with the other criminals and all the guards that were on duty. i told them that jesus was the only one who could help them. they just needed to know." as he was sharing all of this with me all i could do was weep. i wept at the humility of my friend to make the best of what was a horrible situation. i wept at the injustice he faced but the beauty that came of it. i wept because i didn't know if i could have done the same thing. the more he shared with me of his experience the more blessed i felt to call him my friend.

i feel so inspired by his story and his heart for his fellow zambians. it inspires me to love people more, especially those who really need to know God's love. thank you nyambe for being you and for being the hands and feet of jesus in kaombe village and beyond. even though you'll never read this i hope you can feel all the prayers going up for you for strength and wisdom in the decisions you face. you are a blessing and i pray that God would continue to watch over you and provide for your every need. love you my friend. i'm so proud of you!